i had a fully built 2002 wrx which is now stripped back to stock condition and ready for trade-in. i had everything done to the point of somewhere between 260-280 whp (depending on maps used) but wrenching every weekend got old. my biggest desire for trading is a warranty for my daily driver and the performance (or something close) of what i had with my wrx.

so i have narrowed my choices down to an evo or an sti. i have not been able to drive an sti to date but today i drove the evo and i liked the car a lot. i wasn't overly impressed with the interior or dash layout / gauge cluster, but everything else about the car seemed dead on. i want an sti badly but i am guessing payments are going to be 40-60 more per month for it so i am seriously considering the evo but here's the thing.

the only evo in town is a 2003 leftover with 400 test drive miles on it. i wanted red and they have silver (which is my second choice) so i'm not too broken up about it. i was told by the dealer that the 2004's are a bit away but i could get a great deal on this 2003... but i am thinking...

it's a 2003!?!?! subaru (and i'm sure many other vehicle manufacturers) are now starting to receive their 2005 models. also the car has 400 test drive miles on it (ouch) which to me is scary. my question is what should i pay for this thing? it's basically 2 model years old and has 400 (probably hard) miles on it. i don't want to buy a car and be 10k upside down on it before the ink is dry on the contract. my sensible half is telling me to run far, far away from this deal.... to me it's a used car.

so my questions are A) when are the 2004's / 2005's due out and B) what should i pay for this thing? only options are sunroof and c/f spoiler.

any insight would be much appreciated, thanks!

 

Personally, if I wanted a particular color I would find one in the correct color. But I am a keeper of cars, not a trader. As for buying an Evo w/400 miles on it, well I would want a snokin' deal. I might call a different dealer and ask what trade in on a 2003 Evo w/5000 miles is. Then look at the difference between what the 5k mile one is worth and the asking price of the one you want. Ask yourself if it is worth it to YOU. All cars drop value as soon as you sign the paperwork and drive off. For sure those were 400 hard miles but who knows. If you went and drove it did they let you hammer on it while cold? what did they do, or let you do? Maybe they were not as bad as the saying ' drive it like you stole it' would suggest...

 

well a former co-worker is a salesman there so i went with him on a drive. he spoke of how he got to hammer on one when he started and i opened this one up a few times. i didn't beat on it, but i took it to redline probably 3 times. i'm not super concerned because it's only 400 miles and people's view of how to break in a car are sometimes totally different. some people kick the dumper out of them for the break in and the car drives for a million miles.... some people baby it for the first grand and have all sorts of problems later on, so you never know i guess.

my main concern is what is the car actually worth? sticker is 30,800 and i know it's not worth that (to me). for comparision the subaru dealer 5 miles down the road has an 04 sti with 100 miles on it, and test drives are only given to those who are first approved for credit. i didn't go through the paperwork or get far enough to drive the sti today, but because they don't let anyone drive it, well that's a big selling point for me. and as a consumer it's $1,000 more but a model year newer and has 1/4 of the miles.

i think the whole 03' thing is scaring me more than anything. it just seems to late in 04' to be buying an 03', but i guess it depends on what they are going to sell it for.

has anyone received 04's yet?

 

they should be here by now(may, june), i just saw a 2004MY on e-bay (i'm sure it was 2004 because of the VIN), if you get that model you can have leather seats and better sound system

 

I'd buy the Evo. You should be able to get a really go deal on it. Don't let the 03' thing bother you. You could always look at it as you have a very low mileage car. Even though it's a 03' it is still a brand new car, but you shouldn't pay brand new price for it. There was a yellow left over 03' here that was sold for 23K and had about the same miles.

 

The reason they still have 03's for sale new is because they waited so damn long to bring them out. The vast majority of Mitsubishi's 03's were on sale starting in Aug or Sep of 02 but the first EVO's were not sold until the end of Jan or begining of Feb of 03. They are what should have been called an "03 and a half" modle.... and that delay is extending even further for the 04's. I think they should skip 04 all together and sell the new ones as 05's.

Keith

PS: That makes our 03's even rarer in my view

 

Worry about the miles. The 2003 thing isn't a big deal. EVO's practically dont even go by year-models. They basically go by numbers (VII,VIII,IX), and a new number is released every second year-model. The STI's strictly follow year-model which is why their 05's are approaching.

I'd wait for an 04 and shop out of town for one with <10 miles.

 

Tobey, How much are they asking for the Evo with 400 test driven miles? If you are concern about the year, then for an extra $8-10/month over the life of the loan you can purchase gap insurance. In that way, if the car is damaged or stolen you will never be "upside down" on the loan.

 

To me the miles do not matter. They could have been driven just as you would have driven the car. This car is made to be driven and I believe it will have no effect whatsoever on the vehicle life. (flame suit on). If you drive the car the way it is designed to be driven what difference will it make who drove those 400 miles. I drove my car the way I will drive it from the first time I drove it. 11,000 miles now without any trouble. Taking the car on its second track day tomorrow at Watkins Glen. You will have fun with the Evo.

Flybyevo...

 

i'm not sure what their asking price is at this point because i haven't talked numbers with them. i would like to go in with an educated idea of what their asking price should be, because i know they are going to start me off maybe 1k below original sticker which to me, is too much. does anyone have more examples of what similar cars are going for in their area (thanks corey)?

i don't know if i am more concerned about the mileage or the 03 model year thing, but combined i think it will put me in a bad spot in about 1 year. i trade quite often and it seems at about the 2 year period i am in semi-ok position to trade. i just don't want to be 6-8 k upside down after 2 years because i financed too much for a (basically) 2 year old car.

i realize that the evo's release dates are screwey but i'm not sure that matters when it come trade in time (down the road).

so what do you guys think they should be asking for price? only options are c/f spoiler and moon roof. i know they want my 2002 wrx on their lot as a convert-trophy car! hahaha.... i think the deal might be ok, but i am a bit skeptical at this point.

 

Below invoice. dealers typically own the cars for invoice less hold back of 3-5% and any mfg to dealer incentives. The car is 'new' but it is a left over. As soon as you drive it off the lot is it going to be worth 20-23k. And unfortunatly they don't hold their value very well. Gap insurance is almost a must. Good luck

 

I got mine last week for a shade over 27, fully loaded. Only 16 miles, though.

I had one major advantage -- end of the month. People jockey to meet sales quotas for the district/region. Plus I made certain that I let them know there were more on other dealer's lots and that worst case, I was not against waiting for an '04 or MR.

Your major advantage is the milage, if you choose to go that route. Just make it a sticking point and let them know you are fully prepared to walk if they don't meet your price.

good luck,
a